Page 35 of Ulune's Daughter

“Mmm. I think you’ll find his persistence grating,” Jane says. “But there’s no question he’s a skilled linguist and mage. He’ll do a good job on the research. You can tell him I said that. Nothing wrong with his academic skills.”

“Just his attitude?”

Jane rolls her eyes.

“I think I can fend him off,” I say with a smile. “He seemed very dismissive of working for the Aedis Astrum after graduation. Is that just adolescent rebellion or is there a story there?”

“He and his brother are wild fae. They don’t have much respect for human institutions.”

“Including this one?” I ask, indicating the school with a circle of my head.

Jane laughs. “They’ve been problem children since they were freshman. Even worse than you were.”

I grin at her. “Look how well I’ve reformed.”

She wrinkles her nose at me. “Semi-reformed, I’d say.”

I toast her with my wine.

“Kellan, in all seriousness, be wary of Luca’s interest if it’s anything other than academic,” Carrie says. “I know you’re friends with Rachel Arisdaughter and her relationship with Evan Lords began while she was a student and he was a crow, but that was several years and two scandals ago. Dean Quinn’s taking a very dim view of teacher-student fraternization these days.”

“I understand,” I say simply, because I do understand. That’s why I was so clear with Luca from the beginning.

“Even the appearance of favoritism could hurt your tenure opportunities,” Carrie presses.

“I won’t throw my career away over a horny boy,” I assure her. “I’ll be careful not to be alone with him. That sounds Victorian, doesn’t it? But I get it. No late-night TA sessions. No dinner at my place as a reward for a good day’s work. I’ll keep him at arm’s length.”

Whitey nips my fingers and I put down my wine glass to stroke between his ears until he purrs.

“You have had enough salami, mister.”

He gazes up at me with loving fury.

“Some cats eat cheese,” Carrie offers.

“That cat’s going to need a triple-bypass if he eats cheese on top of all that salami,” Jane says. “Do you have any cat treats in the kitchen? I’ll get him something that won’t make his cholesterol skyrocket.”

I nod and tell her where to find the cat treats.

After Jane leaves the room, Carrie leans forward, rolling the bowl of her wine glass between her palms. “On the subject of tenure, I wanted you to know that I did ask to be on your tenure panel. I was rejected.”

“I’m sure they think you’re too close to me because of Jane.”

“Yes, but that only leaves three other Air-mages on the faculty who could be on your panel. Adam Greaves is on sabbatical this year, so you’re only going to have two Air-mages at most and probably three Fire-mages. I don’t think that’s a favorable panel.”

Ihumph. “It’s not. Guess I better do something flashy for my tenure piece.”

Carrie nods her sleek, black head. “The bigger the better. And while I wouldn’t ever want to derail you, you might consider deferring the tenure decision until after Professor Greaves returns.”

“Is he definitely back next year?”

Carrie shrugs. “Not definitely.”

“Then it might not be any better next year.” I sigh. “Carrie, I need your clear eyes on this. Why am I devoting my time and energy to something I’m not even sure I want? Why get my hopes up if the odds are stacked against me?”

She tips her head from side to side. “On the one hand, once you have tenure, you’ll always be tenured. It’s a rite of passage for any academic. You’ve already carved out an impressive reputation and any institution would be lucky to have you. But you haven’t leaped that hurdle.”

Carrie shifts back on the couch as Jane resumes her seat and offers me a handful of cat treats, which I hold in front of Whitey. He licks my fingers and studiously ignores the treats.

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